P&G and contractor allegedly fired Muslim worker who was humiliated by coworker

Two Cincinnati-based companies are facing a lawsuit over
the termination of a former Muslim worker. The lawsuit, filed in an North Carolina
court Monday, claims a woman named Safa Elhassan was fired from Procter & Gamble facilities after facing discrimination in the workplace.

Elhassan worked for P&G through XLC Services, a Cincinnati-based company that
provides manufacturing services and warehouse management to other
companies, at P&G facilities in Guilford County, N.C.

The lawsuit charges P&G and XLC with religious
harassment, religious discrimination, failing to accommodate after
religious discrimination in the workplace, national origin
discrimination, sexual discrimination, two counts of retaliation,
negligence, unfair and deceptive trade practices, assault, battery and
intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The lawsuit tells the story that led to the charges as
follows: Elhassan, who wears a hijab and wedding ring for religious
reasons, was employed at P&G’s facilities through XLC between 2004
and Sept. 16, 2011. During her employment, Elhassan followed P&G
rules and regulations and kept “a performance record which was
satisfactory or better.”

However, Elhassan was unaware of a company policy that
banned jewelry in the workplace, even jewelry of religious significance.
This policy was mostly not a problem for Elhassan because, as the lawsuit
claims, “Other employees of different religions and national origins
routinely wear jewelry under clothing and/or protective wear and are not
punished or searched.”

That is until a woman named Ernestine Wilson allegedly approached
Elhassan, forcibly searched Elhassan for her wedding ring and removed
Elhassan’s hijab in front of coworkers, including men, according to the suit. Under Islam’s
rules, a woman uses a hijab, which is a religious head and neck wrap, to
maintain sexual modesty, and being exposed without a hijab to men who are not family is a major offense and source of humiliation.

Elhassan reported the forced search to higher-ups at XLC.
After a few meetings, Wilson provided an apology, according to the lawsuit, but Elhassan claimed the
apology was insincere because Wilson kept telling coworkers that she
hoped Elhassan was fired. After Elhassan
refused to accept the apology, she was suspended then fired, allegedly
under the orders of P&G.

The lawsuit suggests that Wilson's actions were potentially connected to another workplace incident. The lawsuit says Elhassan was sexually harassed in
the past by George (no last name provided), a man with whom Wilson was allegedly “engaged in a
friendly, physical, and/or romantic relationship." Elhassan
reported the incident, which got George
fired. The lawsuit claims Wilson’s actions were in retaliation to
George’s termination.

Since Wilson did work for P&G through XLC, Elhassan
blames both P&G and XLC for the damages. The lawsuit claims she was
unfairly fired in retaliation for not accepting Wilson’s apology. It
also alleges that XLC forced Elhassan to sign a document she did not
understand upon her termination without her lawyer present, even though
Elhassan asked to have her lawyer read the document. The document, which
P&G officials were supposedly aware of, allegedly sought to release
P&G and XLC of any wrongdoing related to the termination.

Mary Ralles, spokesperson for P&G, responded to the lawsuit in an email: “As
a matter of company policy, we do not comment on pending litigation,
but I did want to make one correction. The individual was not (or ever)
a P&G employee.”

The distinction Ralles made is that Elhassan was not
officially employed by P&G, but she did work for P&G through her
employment at XLC.

XLC could not be immediately reached for comment. This story will be updated if a comment becomes available.

An Illinois-based organization dropped its defamation lawsuit this month against local blogger Jason Haap and two other critics. The two-year-old case was widely viewed as having the potential to set a precedent involving First Amendment protections for online commentary.

When Eleazar Torres-Gomez was killed at the Cintas laundry near Tulsa, Okla., in March 2007, the company took no responsibility and blamed him for his death. Further, Cintas initially tried to block Torres-Gomez’s family from claiming workers compensation benefits.

Continuing a trend that just won't go away, Father Robert F. Poandl of Cincinnati pleaded not guilty this morning to charges of sexual abuse, which allegedly occurred in 1991. The now 28-year-old man claimed that Poandl molested him during a trip to the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in West Virginia, where he was accompanying Poandl who was to fill in for a local priest there.

Poandl was indicted last month on charges of 1st degree sexual assault, 1st degree sexual abuse and sexual abuse by a custodian. Father Dan Dorsey, president of Glenmary Home Missioners, to which Poandl was an associate, says Poandl was removed from active service as a pastor in Georgia when he learned of the allegations in June of last year.

However Catholic officials are receiving criticism from SNAP (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) for not publicly addressing the allegations sooner. “We...hope Catholic officials - in both Ohio and West Virginia - will tell the truth about why they kept quiet about these allegations for over six months,” said the group's midwest director, Judy Jones, in a statement released on Thursday. “Such secrecy is immoral and reckless, and may have led to other kids being abused too.” Poandl has served as a priest since 1968. He has resided as pastor over churches in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi.

As to why the alleged victim was even with Poandl in West Virginia at the time, it is unclear. Details over their visit to Holy Redeemer Catholic Church have yet to be disclosed. However one thing is certain, and that is it will be a much greater surprise if Poandl is found innocent of these charges than it will be if he is found guilty. It's strange to find oneself desensitized to a matter such as this. But unfortunately, Poandl is just another number in the 4,450 priests accused of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002, this according to a 2004 survey commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Poandl's trial is scheduled for June 15, 2010. He is free on a bond of $15,000.

A group that supports preserving the historic Gamble House in Westwood is angry that Cincinnati building inspectors aren't enforcing the law at the property, which is allowing heavy rainfall to damage it while a court battle drags on about whether to save the mansion from demolition.

Bob Prokop, of Save the Historic Gamble Estate Now, said the city's inaction about securing the house contradicts what a building inspector told him would be done at the property in an email from last spring.

Amid all the debate over a recent proposal to tax panhandlers, some people have wondered whatever happened to Cincinnati’s requirement that all beggars get city-issued I.D. badges. In a little-noticed decision, an appellate court struck down that provision more than two years ago.

Court likely to rule in 30-45 days

The Anna Louise Inn, the city of Cincinnati and Western
& Southern (W&S) met for what could be the final time in court
today. For the most part, both sides took their time at the Ohio First
District Court of Appeals to restate past arguments.

The three-judge panel heard 15-minute arguments by both sides. It is expected to give a final decision in 30 to 45 days.

During the hearing, W&S lawyer Francis Barrett insisted that the
Anna Louise Inn meets the definition of a “special assistance shelter,”rather than “transitional housing” as it was originally classified, due to the
Off the Streets program, which helps women involved in prostitution turn
their lives around. The difference in labels could have substantial
implications for the Anna Louise Inn and whether it can go ahead with
its planned $13 million renovation. However, the inn has already
obtained a conditional use permit for its renovations in light of the original court decision classifying it as a special assistance shelter.

Tim Burke, lawyer for the Anna Louise Inn, rebutted by
asserting that the record shows the Anna Louise Inn has never acted as a
special assistance shelter. In one example, Judge Sylvia Hendon asked
Burke if the Anna Louise Inn would take in a woman in the middle of the
night since it is not a special assistance shelter. Burke responded by
saying the Inn would turn the woman away, as required under zoning code:
“She will be directed to one of the traditional homeless shelters. She
is not admitted to the Anna Louise Inn. The program does not operate
that way, and it never has. And the record is absolutely clear about
that.”

The ongoing feud was triggered
by Cincinnati Union Bethel’s (CUB) refusal to sell the Anna Louise Inn
property to W&S. The company originally offered $1.8 million to buy
the Anna Louise Inn in 2009. CUB declined, and it eventually obtained
$12.6 million in state- and city-distributed federal funding for long-needed renovations.
From that point forward, relations between CUB and W&S
deteriorated, as CityBeat previously covered in detail (“Surrounded by Skyscrapers,” issue of Aug. 15)

When asked how the hearings went, Burke replied, “You never know … until
you hear the decision.”

The latest appeals court ruling did not give the Anna Louise Inn much peace of mind in its ongoing feud with Western & Southern. On Friday, the
Ohio First District Court of Appeals affirmed most of a lower court’s ruling against the Anna Louise Inn, but it sent the case back down to the lower court on a
legal technicality.

The ruling means the case could restart, potentially
setting Cincinnati Union Bethel, which owns the inn, and Western &
Southern on another path of court hearings and appeals that will take up
taxpayer money and the courts’ time — all because Western &
Southern is bitter it didn’t purchase the Anna Louise Inn when given the
opportunity.

By agreeing with the lower court that Cincinnati Union Bethel filed an incomplete application, the appeals court is now asking the owners of the Anna Louise Inn to resubmit their
funding requests to the city of Cincinnati — except this time Cincinnati Union Bethel
will have to include details about previously omitted parts of the Anna Louise Inn and the Off
the Streets program.

But Tim Burke, Cincinnati Union Bethel’s attorney, is
hopeful the process will not have to restart. He says Cincinnati Union
Bethel already carried out the appeals court’s requirements.
After Hamilton County Judge Norbert Nadel handed down his May 4 ruling
against the Anna Louise Inn, Cincinnati Union Bethel started a second
chain of zoning and permit applications to obtain a conditional use permit that met
Nadel’s specifications. So far, the applications have been approved by Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board and the Cincinnati Zoning Board of Appeals,
but Western & Southern is appealing those rulings as well.

Burke and Cincinnati Union Bethel hope to meet with Nadel Monday to make their case. If they’re successful, they’ll stave off another series of court hearings and appeals.

Burke says the case has been a uniquely negative experience — previously calling it one of the most frustrating of his career. He says
Western & Southern’s actions are pure obstructionism: “They benefit
from delays, and that’s all they’re trying to do.”

Cincinnati Union Bethel wants to use city funds to help finance $13 million in
renovations for the Anna Louise Inn, which are necessary to keep the building open and functional.

The Anna Louise Inn is a 103-year-old building that
provides shelter to low-income women. Its Off the Streets program helps
women involved in prostitution turn their lives around.

Western & Southern previously supported the Anna
Louise Inn and the Off the Streets program with direct donations, but the
friendly relations abruptly ended when Cincinnati Union Bethel refused
to sell the building to Western & Southern, instead opting to
renovate the Inn. At that point, Western & Southern began a series of
legal challenges meant to obstruct Cincinnati Union Bethel’s renovation
plans.

The zoning debate centers around whether the Anna Louise
Inn qualifies as a “special assistance shelter” or “transitional
housing.” The Anna Louise Inn originally claimed to be transitional
housing, but Nadel ruled the building is a special assistance
shelter. After that ruling, Cincinnati Union Bethel obtained a conditional use permit for the new classification, but Western & Southern is now disputing the approval of that permit.

For more information about this ongoing dispute, visit CityBeat's collection of coverage here.